Our June meeting is always a very special evening. Tonight we will install the 2013-2014 Officers and Board of Directors and present awards for the outstanding orchid plants entered for SFOS judging throughout the year. Then when those activities are complete we will have a wonderful program presented by long time members and supporters of SFOS, Segundo and Yolanda Cuesta of Quest Orchids.

Segundo and Yolanda started hybridizing orchids in 1984 and in 1992 opened their retail orchid business. The started with two greenhouses and today have 50,000 sq, ft. of growing space. Quest Orchids specializes in Art Shaped Cattleyas and cloning old standards. They also have a new breeding line of standards flowers with compact plants, which has been very successful for them. Quest Orchids also participates in about fifteen Shows across the country each year, including the SFOS Annual Orchid Show.

Segundo will present a program titled “Growing Cattleyas in South Florida”. Their program will cover culture, disease and pest control. They will have several handouts for you to take home. Quest Orchids will be providing the raffle table this evening. Quest Orchids is located in Miami (Horse country) at 12110 SW 43 Street, Miami FL 33175, 305-219-2883 hours are Tuesday 9:30 to Saturday. They are closed on Sunday and Monday.

We look forward to seeing you at the meeting and remember guests are always welcome!!

Our May program will be presented by Dr. Brian Monk. The title of Brian’s program is “Tolumnias: We Were All Weeds Once“.

Brian Monk was born in Milton, Florida in 1969. Shortly after his birth, Brian’s family moved to Charleston, West Virginia where he spent the next 18 years. As a young man, Brian’s intense passion for nature led to his profession and his many hobbies including bird watching, orchid growing, and natural history.

In 1992, Brian received his B.S., cum laude, from Hampden Sydney College in Virginia followed by a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Virginia Tech in 1997. In 2005, while working as a Veterinarian in Orlando, Florida, Brian met the love of his life Mary-Margaret, in Ft. Lauderdale. Because of Brian’s passion of all things orchids, he and Mary-Margaret form Blu Llama Orchids, Inc. Brian and Mary-Margaret were married on April Fool’s Day in 2006 and reside in Ft. Lauderdale with their five cats and their ever expanding orchid collection.

Brian started growing and hybridizing orchids in his backyard, but this has recently expanded to 4000 square feet of greenhouse space. He will grow anything green, but focuses on his hybridizing projects, which include the development of multi-floral white and pink paphiopedilums, warmth tolerant red Oncidiinae, and standard pink Cattleya with an all-white lip.

Brian’s photography has won awards online, in the 2007 Miami International Orchid Show and at the 2008 World Orchid Conference. He has had a solo exhibit of his fine art photography at the Leu Gardens in Orlando and has been a featured artist at the AOS Gardens.